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dave-benson53
Reviews
Wind River (2017)
Intense Riveting Story with Fine Performances
Excellent movie about life and death on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, putting a spotlight on a little-known heartbreaking issue concerning missing young women. The acting is first rate - Jeremy Renner as usual gives a superb understated performance as a Fish and Wildlife Officer carrying a deep emotional wound relating to the theme of the movie, Elizabeth Olsen is fine as the inexperienced FBI agent totally unfamiliar with life on the reservation, and the supporting actors including Graham Greene are all solid and believable. I highly recommend this movie for its incredible photography, atmosphere that reflects both beauty and tragedy, and the important message it conveys.
The only criticism I have, which prevents me from giving the movie a 10, is the totally unnecessary condescending manner in which the director shows the Olsen's character being treated by the locals, particularly in the beginning of the movie. She's pulled out of the desert of Vegas with no background information given by her office and thrust onto an Indian reservation, and the locals humiliate and make fun of her because she is unfamiliar with the climate, reservation life and Indian customs such as the manner in which they grieve? Let's see a tribal police officer get plucked without notice off the rez that he has never left before and set down in the middle of New York City to help the NYPD on an investigation and witness how quickly and seamlessly he adapts to life there.
Peaky Blinders: Episode #1.2 (2013)
Predictable
Clever Irish gangster outwits Italian mob by faking death of compatriot (as if the mafia would leave an execution in the hands of anyone but themselves) - check. Clever Irish gangster outwits cardboard-cutout stern dimwitted police inspector (who obviously became a feared inspector because he's so dumb and easily cowed) - check. Police inspector instructs pretty girl to get into bed with clever Irish gangster to gain information - check. Pretty girl to fall in love with clever Irish gangster in future episode - check. Didn't need watch any more to know how things generally play out. Have at it, fans.
The Walking Dead: Rest in Peace (2022)
TWD Walks to a Painful Slow Death
Subtle spoilers ahead -
TWD came to its inevitable painful and anticlimactic end on Sunday as nothing of interest or dramatic effect happened. Given that details of the spinoff series had already been disseminated and the outcome of the confrontation between the rebels and Pamela Milton was pretty much preordained, it was admittedly difficult for the producers and writers to stoke a lot of suspense.
However, instead of making a valiant try, they repeated all the same mistakes that have plagued the series over the past few seasons: (1) drawn-out moments of "profound' dialogue that turned even the most interesting characters into wooden reciters of lines, (2) the sacrifice of minor ongoing characters that we were supposed to care about, but whose demises did not have much emotional impact, (3) the ridiculous miraculous resurrection of a major character from certain doom (spoiler - in which incidentally the child should have been crushed given how it happened) who later succumbs in an painfully obvious "twist", (4) the total dud of an ending for Milton, (5) the "in-your-face" romantic reunion of two characters (not sure how they didn't burst out in laughter filming it) and (6) the amateurish CGI demise of the walkers threatening to overwhelm the community.
Being a big fan of TWD over the past decade, I am looking forward to checking out the spinoffs and movies if they happen. However, given the trashing of the original series over the past few seasons, I am sincerely hoping that new professional, competent, adult producers and writers will be found to inject exciting ideas and energy into this now moribund franchise.
Better Call Saul: Breaking Bad (2022)
Second Uninspired Episode in a Row
I paid a few shekels to see season 6 of Better Call Saul because I became hooked on the series right from the start and eagerly awaited what should have been a final suite of episodes that blew away what came before. However, this episode and the last are just warmed-over versions of previous hijinks. Same old scams in new clothes with a new crew of idiots. The series is just treading water at this point while we all wait for the final two episodes to wrap things up, hopefully in a more creative, entertaining way. I cannot believe the ratings that this episode has received, either (I presume) from fanboys who would applaud Jimmy sitting on the can for an hour or folks with a vested interest in juicing up the ratings and hype. Hope the final episodes justify the money spent.
Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham: Scotland By Land, Air, and Sea (2021)
Would have been 10/10 if the sequencing made sense
Spoilers
Absolutely beautiful shots of Scotland's incredible landscape - lochs, munros, features - the Old Man of Storr, the cliffs, and islands. This is the spectacular filming of Scotland that I had mentioning as being my expectation in my review of the first episode. Also the banter between the two and particularly the stalwart Graham bravely attempting the cliffs all were very entertaining.
My only caveat is that, in this episode as in others, whoever edited the film has no sense of continuity. On a ferry on the way to Lewis, but then no Lewis, Isle of Skye, rowboat in the middle of Loch Ness, back to Skye, seaplane trip to nowhere, with shots of them riding through Glencoe interspersed throughout. That's fine for folks who enjoy random shots of Scotland, but for those of us familiar with the land, all the jumping around is disconcerting if this is supposed to be a road trip.
But still a very entertaining episode with many shots of the magnificent Scottish landscape.
Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham (2021)
Sometimes entertaining and informative but too superficial
Having read the book and enjoyed our two tours of Scotland, I was really looking forward to this series. The first four episodes have been entertaining and I'm enjoying the banter between the two even if it seems a bit forced and scripted sometimes. The specific sequences focusing on food, the distillery, music, and the "supernatural" were informative and influence me to want to go back to Scotland yet again.
However, I'm finding the presentation in general to be too rushed and superficial. Each episode should really be an hour long and go into more depth, particularly with regard to the locale of each of the sequences. Given how wonderful the cities and landscapes of Scotland are, it would have been much more fulfilling if, for example, they spent time exploring more of Edinburgh in depth in the episodes in which they visit the city for food tasting and visiting the Greyfriars cemetery.
I will continue to watch the remaining episodes, and encourage anyone who has not visited Scotland to do the same, but I am hoping that they will spend more time exploring and showcasing the amazing scenery and landscapes of Scotland to the same extent that they focus on the culture and the cute banter between the two.